Save Planet Earth

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, known also as the Pacific Trash Vortex or Eastern Garbage Patch is an area situated  between the United States West Coast and Japan.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a large collection of rubbish including plastics and other waste product, collected there by the Oceans Gyres, namely the North Pacific Gyre. This pile of rubbish is estimated to be twice the size of Texas, if not larger. Despite its shear size, this mass is not visible from Satellite imagery.

This problem was first predicted in 1988 by a group of researchers based in Alaska. Their findings showed that large amounts of marine debris could accumulate within certain areas, guided there by ocean currents. It was also stated that identical problems could arise in other areas of the world’s oceans as well.

The rotational current formed by the Gyre literally collects rubbish from coastal waters of North America and Japan, then guides it all to a central point, now known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The exact size of the effected area is not known at this time, but estimates range from 700,000 km2 to more than 15 million km2. The large majority of rubbish actually originates from land based sources, although ship based waste is also a contributing factor.

The impact to marine life is unimaginable, with much of the suspended plastic ending up in the bellies of various marine species. The rubbish can also obsorb organic pollutants from the seawater, including but not limited to PCBs, DDT, and PAHs. This can cause toxic effects to most marine life that comes in contact with it.

The following image shows a dead bird (just one of many species effected) with its stomach full of indigestible plastic.

Oceanic Defense are currently campaigning for the cleanup , I urge you to visit their website and show your support by becoming a member.

http://www.oceanicdefense.org/